1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a dead end connector for gripping and securing wires, such as electrical conductors on power lines, and, more particularly, is concerned with a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector having elements for coupling together and preventing removal of conductor gripping jaws.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of electrical power distribution and transmission, electrical power lines must be periodically anchored to supporting structures, such as towers, and strung between the supporting structures in a series leading from an electric power generator to a point of use. Couplings, commonly referred to as dead ends or dead end connectors, are frequently used to attach the electrical power lines to the supporting structures, or, more precisely, to insulated mounts attached to the supporting structures.
Heretofore, dead end connectors such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,961 to DeFrance have been used for this purpose. This patent discloses a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector which includes an elongated connector body having opposite rear and front ends, a single leg and an extension wall disposed in tandem relationship between the opposite ends, and a pair of opposite jaw guides formed on and protruding outwardly from the extension wall. A clevis is formed on the rear end of the body and used for fastening the connector to a pole or the like. The jaw guides are disposed in a spaced angular relationship to one another and with the extension wall define a U-shaped channel. The jaw guides converge toward each other so that the U-shaped channel gradually narrows in its transverse dimension as the jaw guides extend along the extension wall in a lengthwise direction of the connector body from the rear end to the front end thereof. The extension wall has a pair of recessed tracks defined therein which extend parallel to and along the jaw guides and thus converge in the same manner toward each other, and a central longitudinal recess defined therein extending between the recessed tracks and along the lengthwise direction of the connector body.
The DeFrance connector further includes a pair of opposing jaws slidably supported in the U-shaped channel between the jaw guides and on the extension wall, and a floater member separate from the jaws and having a planar wedge-shaped configuration and being disposed between the extension wall and the jaws. The jaws have respective inner arcuate faces disposed parallel to and opposing one another with teeth protruding therefrom, backsides facing the floater member, pairs of raised spaced guides defined on and protruding from the backsides, and elongated ribs defined along outer edges of the backsides and protruding into the recessed tracks in the extension wall and thus extending along the jaw guides. The floater member has an end tab at a front end thereof and a pair of opposed cutouts defining a pair of opposed side tabs at a rear end thereof such that the end tab protrudes into the central longitudinal recess of the extension wall and the side tabs fit into spaces between the pairs of raised spaced guides of the jaws and thereby couples the jaws together for slidable movement with the floater member within the U-shaped channel. As the jaws are slidably moved with the floater member toward the front end of the connector body from a rearward open position in which an electrical conductor segment of a electrical power line can be inserted between the jaws, the floater member moves forwardly along the lengthwise direction of the connector body while the jaws move concurrently forwardly and laterally inwardly toward one another and converge toward the lengthwise direction of the connector body such that the teeth of the inner arcuate faces of the jaws will bite into the electrical conductor segment of the power line disposed between the jaws to form a clamping wedging engagement therebetween. A coil spring disposed in the central longitudinal recess of the extension wall under the floater member and rearwardly of the end tab thereof. The coil spring becomes compressed by the end tab as the floater member is moved toward the rear end of the connector body with the jaws. Thus, the coil spring biases the floater member and thereby the jaws to move toward the front end of the connector body to a forward closed position of the jaws in which the jaws make the clamping wedging engagement with the conductor segment of the power line. One of the raised guides on the backside of one of the jaws has a corner notch defined therein and one of the tabs on the floater member is lodgeable in the corner notch to lock the jaws in the rearward open position once the jaws have been slidably moved rearwardly to the rearward open position. The jaw guides have respective rims which project inwardly a short distance into the U-shaped channel so as to overlap outer edge portions of the jaws and thereby maintain the ribs of the jaws protruding into the recessed tracks defined in the extension wall along the respective jaw guides.
While the jaws of the above-described prior art dead end connector of the DeFrance patent function reasonably well in gripping and holding the conductor segment of the power line therebetween through their clamping wedging engagement therewith, the connector requires the employment of a separate floater member under the jaws to lock them at and release them from their open position and thereby ensure that the jaws move in unison along the jaw guides. The requirement for the floater member separate from the jaws to couple the jaws together increases the complexity and the cost of the DeFrance prior art dead end connector and tends to make it more difficult to operate and to increase the opportunity for the parts of the floater member and the jaws which have to slide in opposite directions relative to one another to bind with one another and thereby impede the relative movement and thus the reliability of the jaws and floater member.
Consequently, a need exists for an innovation that will overcome the problems associated with the prior art dead end connector of the DeFrance patent without introducing new problems in place thereof.
The present invention provides a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector designed to satisfy the aforementioned needs. The dead end connector of the present invention has complementary elements formed on the jaws which directly and slidably interfit with one another and thereby directly couple the jaws to one another for undergoing slidable movement together. Thus, there is no need for employment of a separate floater member in the dead end connector of the present invention to perform this coupling function. The dead end connector of the present invention also has separate retention elements in the form of jaw keepers that are installable to overlie the jaws for preventing their removal from the connector once the keepers are installed.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector which comprises: (a) a connector body having a base and a pair of opposite jaw guides formed on and protruding outwardly from the base and defining a guide channel therewith, the jaw guides extending in a spaced angular relationship to one another such that the jaw guides and the guide channel defined by the base and the jaw guides converge from a rear end to a front end of the base; (b) a pair of jaws mounted between the jaw guides and on the base of the connector body for undergoing slidable movement within the guide channel thereof along forwardly converging and rearwardly diverging paths between a rearward open position for receiving a segment of an electrical conductor therebetween and a forward closed position in which the jaws provide a clamping wedging engagement with the electrical conductor segment disposed therebetween; and (c) a plurality of complementary elements formed on the jaws such that the complementary elements directly and slidably interfit with one another so as to ensure that the jaws are coupled to one another to undergo the slidable movement together.
The present invention also is directed to a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector which comprises: (a) a connector body having a base and a pair of opposite jaw guides formed on and protruding outwardly from the base and defining a guide channel therewith, the jaw guides extending in a spaced angular relationship to one another such that the jaw guides and the guide channel defined by the base and the jaw guides converge from a rear end to a front end of the base; (b) a pair of jaws mounted between the jaw guides and on the base of the connector body for undergoing slidable movement within the guide channel thereof along forward converging and rearward diverging paths between a forward open position for receiving a segment of an electrical conductor therebetween and a rearward closed position in which the jaws provide a clamping wedging engagement with the electrical conductor segment disposed therebetween; and (c) a pair of jaw keepers separate from and securable on the jaw guides of the connector body so as to overlie the jaws and prevent removal of the jaws from the connector body.
The present invention further is directed to a spring-loaded wedge dead end connector which comprises: (a) a connector body having a base and a pair of opposite jaw guides formed on and protruding outwardly from the base and defining a guide channel therewith, the jaw guides extending in a spaced angular relationship to one another such that the jaw guides and the guide channel defined by the base and the jaw guides converge from a rear end to a front end of the base; (b) a pair of jaws mounted between the jaw guides and on the base of the connector body for undergoing slidable movement within the guide channel thereof along forward converging and rearward diverging paths between a rearward open position for receiving a segment of an electrical conductor therebetween and a forward closed position in which the jaws provide a clamping wedging engagement with the electrical conductor segment disposed therebetween; (c) a plurality of complementary elements formed on the jaws such that the complementary elements directly and slidably interfit with one another so as to ensure that the jaws are coupled to one another to undergo the slidable movement together; and (d) a plurality of retention elements for preventing removal of the jaws from the connector body.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention.